Comparing the 2016 Presidential Tax Reform Proposals

July 30, 2016

Scott Greenberg

Tom VanAntwerp

Scott Greenberg, Tom VanAntwerp

Tax policy is shaping up to be one of the major issues of the 2016 presidential campaign. Below, we’ve compiled every tax proposal that this season’s presidential candidates have offered during the campaign. This chart will be updated as candidates issue more detailed tax plans in the coming months.

To learn more about this chart, see this post. To download a printable comparison of presidential tax plans, see this post.

To select from different candidates and issues, click the blue arrow buttons below to expand the selection menus.

Candidates⋀

Jeb Bush

Ben Carson

Lincoln Chafee

Chris Christie

Hillary Clinton

Ted Cruz

Carly Fiorina

Jim Gilmore

Lindsey Graham

Mike Huckabee

Bobby Jindal

Gary Johnson

John Kasich

Lawrence Lessig

Martin O'Malley

George Pataki

Rand Paul

Rick Perry

Marco Rubio

Bernie Sanders

Rick Santorum

Donald Trump

Scott Walker

Jim Webb

Select All

Issues⋀

Rates on Ordinary Income

Itemized Deductions

Credits

Alternative Minimum Tax

Rates on Capital Gains and Dividends

Rate

Capital Investment

International Income

Pass-through Business Income

Payroll Taxes

Estate Tax

Other Taxes

Select All

Candidate Comparison

Issue

Plan

Income Tax: Rates on Ordinary Income

Jeb Bush

Establishes three tax brackets, with rates of 10%, 25%, and 28%. The top rate applies to taxable income over $85,750 for single filers and $141,200 for joint filers. Increases the standard deduction to $11,300 for single filers and $22,600 for joint filers.

Ben Carson

Establishes a flat rate of 14.9% on all ordinary income. Alters the standard deduction and personal exemption to exempt wage income under 150% of the federal poverty level of a filer.

Lincoln Chafee

Adds a new bracket with a rate of approximately 45%, for income over $750,000. Increases the personal exemption by $1000.

Chris Christie

Establishes three brackets, with a top rate of 28% and a bottom rate of 8%.

Hillary Clinton

Adds a 4% surtax on income over $5 million.

Ted Cruz

Establishes a flat rate of 10% on all ordinary income. Increases the standard deduction to $10,000 per filer.

Carly Fiorina

No specific proposal.

Jim Gilmore

Establishes three tax brackets, with rates of 10%, 15%, and 25%.

Lindsey Graham

Establishes a flat rate "in the high teens or low twenties."

Mike Huckabee

Eliminates the individual income tax. Creates a federal sales tax at a rate of 23%, with monthly rebates. This proposal is often referred to as the FairTax, and is equivalent to a rate of 30% on the pre-tax price of goods and services.

Bobby Jindal

Establishes three tax brackets, with rates of 2%, 10%, and 25%. The top rate applies to taxable income over $90,000 for single filers and $180,000 for joint filers. Eliminates the standard deduction and the personal exemption.

Gary Johnson

No specific proposal.

John Kasich

Establishes three brackets, with a top rate of 28%.

Lawrence Lessig

No specific proposal.

Martin O'Malley

No specific proposal.

George Pataki

No specific proposal.

Rand Paul

Establishes a flat rate of 14.5% on all ordinary income. Increases the standard deduction to $15,000 per filer. Increases the personal exemption to $5,000 per person.

Rick Perry

No specific proposal.

Marco Rubio

Establishes three brackets of 15%, 25%, and 35%. The top rate applies to taxable income over $150,000 for single filers and $300,000 for joint filers.

Bernie Sanders

Establishes four new brackets of 37%, 43%, 48%, and 52%. The top rate applies to taxable income over $10 million. Raises the rate of all other brackets by 2.2%.

Rick Santorum

Establishes a flat rate of 20% on all ordinary income.

Donald Trump

Establishes three tax brackets, with rates of 12%, 25% and 33%.

Scott Walker

No specific proposal.

Jim Webb

No specific proposal.

Income Tax: Itemized Deductions

Jeb Bush

Eliminates the state and local income tax deduction. Caps all remaining deductions, besides the charitable deduction, at 2 percent of adjusted gross income. Eliminates the Pease limitation on itemized deductions.

Ben Carson

Eliminates all itemized deductions.

Lincoln Chafee

No specific proposal.

Chris Christie

Eliminates all itemized deductions except for the charitable deduction and the mortgage interest deduction.

Hillary Clinton

Caps the tax benefit of itemized deductions at 28% of the deduction.

Ted Cruz

Eliminates all itemized deductions except for the charitable deduction and the mortgage interest deduction.

Carly Fiorina

No specific proposal.

Jim Gilmore

No specific proposal.

Lindsey Graham

No specific proposal.

Mike Huckabee

Eliminates all deductions. Creates a federal sales tax at a rate of 23%, with monthly rebates. This proposal is often referred to as the FairTax, and is equivalent to a rate of 30% on the pre-tax price of goods and services.

Bobby Jindal

Eliminates all itemized deductions, except for the charitable deduction and the mortgage interest deduction. Caps the mortgage interest deduction at $500,000 of acquisition debt. Eliminates the Pease limitation on itemized deductions.

Gary Johnson

No specific proposal.

John Kasich

No specific proposal.

Lawrence Lessig

No specific proposal.

Martin O'Malley

No specific proposal.

George Pataki

No specific proposal.

Rand Paul

Eliminates all itemized deductions except for the charitable deduction and the mortgage interest deduction.

Rick Perry

No specific proposal.

Marco Rubio

Eliminates all itemized deductions except for the charitable deduction and the mortgage interest deduction. Caps the mortgage interest deduction at $300,000 of acquisition debt.

Bernie Sanders

Caps the tax benefit of itemized deductions at 28% of the deduction for households with over $250,000 in income. Eliminates the Pease limitation on itemized deductions.

Rick Santorum

Eliminates all itemized deductions except for the charitable deduction and the mortgage interest deduction. Caps the mortgage interest deduction at $25,000 of interest payments.

Donald Trump

Phases out all deductions except for the charitable deduction and the mortgage interest deduction.

Scott Walker

No specific proposal.

Jim Webb

No specific proposal.

Income Tax: Credits

Jeb Bush

Doubles the Earned Income Tax Credit for childless filers, and expands it for filers between 21 and 24.

Ben Carson

Eliminates all credits except for the foreign tax credit.

Lincoln Chafee

No specific proposal.

Chris Christie

No specific proposal.

Hillary Clinton

Creates a new tax credit of up to $1,200 for caregivers.

Ted Cruz

Eliminates all credits except for the earned income tax credit and the child tax credit. Expands the earned income tax credit by 20%.

Carly Fiorina

No specific proposal.

Jim Gilmore

Establishes a family tax credit of $4,300 forall households living in poverty.

Lindsey Graham

No specific proposal.

Mike Huckabee

Eliminates all credits. Creates a federal sales tax at a rate of 23%, with monthly rebates. This proposal is often referred to as the FairTax, and is equivalent to a rate of 30% on the pre-tax price of goods and services.

Bobby Jindal

Replaces the personal exemption with a nonrefundable credit for dependents. Transfers the earned income tax credit to the payroll tax.

Gary Johnson

No specific proposal.

John Kasich

Increases the Earned Income Tax Credit by 10%

Lawrence Lessig

No specific proposal.

Martin O'Malley

No specific proposal.

George Pataki

No specific proposal.

Rand Paul

Eliminates all credits except for the earned income tax credit and the child tax credit.

Rick Perry

No specific proposal.

Marco Rubio

Establishes an additional child credit of $2,500, used to offset income and payroll taxes. Replaces the standard deduction, personal exemption, and 10% bracket with a refundable personal credit.

Bernie Sanders

No specific proposal.

Rick Santorum

Replaces the standard deduction, personal exemption, and Earned Income Tax Credit with a refundable personal credit of $2,750.

Donald Trump

No specific proposal.

Scott Walker

No specific proposal.

Jim Webb

No specific proposal.

Income Tax: Alternative Minimum Tax

Jeb Bush

Eliminates the alternative minimum tax.

Ben Carson

Eliminates the Alternative Minimum Tax.

Lincoln Chafee

No specific proposal.

Chris Christie

No specific proposal.

Hillary Clinton

Creates a new minimum 30 percent rate on individuals earning over $1 million.

Ted Cruz

Eliminates the Alternative Minimum Tax.

Carly Fiorina

No specific proposal.

Jim Gilmore

No specific proposal.

Lindsey Graham

No specific proposal.

Mike Huckabee

Eliminates the alternate minimum tax. Creates a federal sales tax at a rate of 23%, with monthly rebates. This proposal is often referred to as the FairTax, and is equivalent to a rate of 30% on the pre-tax price of goods and services.

Bobby Jindal

Eliminates the alternative minimum tax.

Gary Johnson

No specific proposal.

John Kasich

No specific proposal.

Lawrence Lessig

No specific proposal.

Martin O'Malley

No specific proposal.

George Pataki

No specific proposal.

Rand Paul

Eliminates the alternative minimum tax.

Rick Perry

No specific proposal.

Marco Rubio

Eliminates the alternative minimum tax.

Bernie Sanders

Eliminates the alternative minimum tax.

Rick Santorum

Eliminates the Alternative Minimum Tax.

Donald Trump

Eliminates the alternative minimum tax.

Scott Walker

No specific proposal.

Jim Webb

No specific proposal.

Income Tax: Rates on Capital Gains and Dividends

Jeb Bush

Eliminates the net investment income surtax. Taxes interest income at capital gains and dividend tax rates.

Ben Carson

Lowers the rate on capital gains and dividends income to 0%.

Lincoln Chafee

Adds a new bracket with a rate of 28.8%, for capital gains and dividends income earned by taxpayers making over $750,000.

Chris Christie

No specific proposal.

Hillary Clinton

Adds a 4% surtax on income over $5 million. Raises rates on medium-term capital gains (investments held for less than six years) to between 24% and 39.6%.

Ted Cruz

Lowers the rate on capital gains and dividends income to 10%.

Carly Fiorina

No specific proposal.

Jim Gilmore

Lowers the rate on capital gains and dividends income to 0%.

Lindsey Graham

No specific proposal.

Mike Huckabee

Eliminates taxes on capital gains and dividends income. Creates a federal sales tax at a rate of 23%, with monthly rebates. This proposal is often referred to as the FairTax, and is equivalent to a rate of 30% on the pre-tax price of goods and services.

Rand Paul

Rick Perry

Marco Rubio

Bernie Sanders

Taxes capital gains and dividends at ordinary income rates for households with incomes over $250,000.

Rick Santorum

Retains a 20% rate on capital gains and dividends income.

Donald Trump

Eliminates the net investment income surtax.

Scott Walker

No specific proposal.

Jim Webb

No specific proposal.

Corporate Income Tax: Rate

Jeb Bush

Lowers the top corporate rate to 20%.

Ben Carson

Lowers the top corporate rate to 14.9%.

Lincoln Chafee

No specific proposal.

Chris Christie

Lowers the top corporate rate to 25%.

Hillary Clinton

No specific proposal.

Ted Cruz

Replaces the corporate income tax with a 16% business transfer tax, which applies to all capital income and labor payments.

Carly Fiorina

No specific proposal.

Jim Gilmore

Lowers the top corporate rate to 15%.

Lindsey Graham

No specific proposal.

Mike Huckabee

Eliminates the corporate income tax. Creates a federal sales tax at a rate of 23%, with monthly rebates. This proposal is often referred to as the FairTax, and is equivalent to a rate of 30% on the pre-tax price of goods and services.

Bobby Jindal

Eliminates the corporate income tax.

Gary Johnson

No specific proposal.

John Kasich

Lowers the top corporate rate to 25%.

Lawrence Lessig

No specific proposal.

Martin O'Malley

No specific proposal.

George Pataki

Lowers the top corporate rate to 24%. Lowers the top rate on manufacturers to 12%.

Rand Paul

Replaces the corporate tax with a 14.5% business transfer tax, which applies to all capital income and labor payments.

Rick Perry

No specific proposal.

Marco Rubio

Lowers the top corporate rate to 25%.

Bernie Sanders

No specific proposal.

Rick Santorum

Lowers the top corporate rate to 20%. Lowers the rate for manufacturing corporations to 0%, raising it gradually afterward.

Donald Trump

Lowers the top corporate rate to 15%.

Scott Walker

No specific proposal.

Jim Webb

No specific proposal.

Corporate Income Tax: Capital Investment

Jeb Bush

Moves to full expensing of investment costs.

Ben Carson

Moves to full expensing of investment costs.

Lincoln Chafee

No specific proposal.

Chris Christie

Moves to full expensing of investment costs.

Hillary Clinton

Allows some small businesses to expense up to $1 million in capital investments. Increases the deduction for startup costs.

Ted Cruz

Moves to full expensing of investment costs.

Carly Fiorina

No specific proposal.

Jim Gilmore

Moves to full expensing of investment costs.

Lindsey Graham

No specific proposal.

Mike Huckabee

Eliminates the corporate income tax. Creates a federal sales tax at a rate of 23%, with monthly rebates. This proposal is often referred to as the FairTax, and is equivalent to a rate of 30% on the pre-tax price of goods and services.

Bobby Jindal

No specific proposal.

Gary Johnson

No specific proposal.

John Kasich

Moves to full expensing of investment costs.

Lawrence Lessig

No specific proposal.

Martin O'Malley

No specific proposal.

George Pataki

No specific proposal.

Rand Paul

Moves to full expensing of investment costs.

Rick Perry

No specific proposal.

Marco Rubio

Moves to full expensing of investment costs.

Bernie Sanders

No specific proposal.

Rick Santorum

Moves to full expensing of investment costs.

Donald Trump

Moves to full expensing of investment costs.

Scott Walker

No specific proposal.

Jim Webb

No specific proposal.

Corporate Income Tax: International Income

Jeb Bush

Shifts to a territorial tax system and enacts a deemed repatriation of foreign income at an 8.75% rate.

Ben Carson

Shifts to a territorial tax system. Allows corporations to repatriate international income tax-free for six months, provided they use 10% of the money in enterprise zones or to create jobs for the unemployed.

Hillary Clinton

Ted Cruz

Shifts to a territorial tax system and enacts a deemed repatriation of foreign income at a 10% rate.

Carly Fiorina

No specific proposal.

Jim Gilmore

Shifts to a territorial tax system.

Lindsey Graham

Enacts a deemed repatriation of foreign income at a rate around 10%.

Mike Huckabee

Eliminates taxes on international income. Creates a federal sales tax at a rate of 23%, with monthly rebates. This proposal is often referred to as the FairTax, and is equivalent to a rate of 30% on the pre-tax price of goods and services.

Bobby Jindal

Shifts to a territorial tax system and enacts a deemed repatriation of foreign income at a 8% rate.

Gary Johnson

No specific proposal.

John Kasich

Shifts to a territorial tax system and allows repatriation of deferred earnings with no tax.

Lawrence Lessig

No specific proposal.

Martin O'Malley

No specific proposal.

George Pataki

No specific proposal.

Rand Paul

Shifts to a territorial tax system.

Rick Perry

No specific proposal.

Marco Rubio

Shifts to a territorial tax system and enacts a deemed repatriation of foreign income at a 6% rate.

Bernie Sanders

Ends the deferral of tax on foreign income. Creates several limits on the foreign tax credit. Revises rules about corporate inversions and foreign corporations operating domestically.

Rick Santorum

Enacts a deemed repatriation of foreign income at a 10% rate.

Donald Trump

Ends the deferral of overseas corporate income but preserves the foreign tax credit. Enacts a deemed repatriation of foreign income at a 10% rate.

Scott Walker

No specific proposal.

Jim Webb

No specific proposal.

Corporate Income Tax: Pass-through Business Income

Jeb Bush

No specific proposal.

Ben Carson

Taxes pass-through business income at 14.9%.

Lincoln Chafee

No specific proposal.

Chris Christie

No specific proposal.

Hillary Clinton

Creates a standard deduction for small business expenses.

Ted Cruz

Taxes pass-through business income at 10%.

Carly Fiorina

No specific proposal.

Jim Gilmore

Taxes pass-through business income at 15%. Taxes all pass-through business on the entity level, rather than on the individual level.

Lindsey Graham

No specific proposal.

Mike Huckabee

Eliminates taxes on pass-through business income. Creates a federal sales tax at a rate of 23%, with monthly rebates. This proposal is often referred to as the FairTax, and is equivalent to a rate of 30% on the pre-tax price of goods and services.

Bobby Jindal

No specific proposal.

Gary Johnson

No specific proposal.

John Kasich

No specific proposal.

Lawrence Lessig

No specific proposal.

Martin O'Malley

No specific proposal.

George Pataki

No specific proposal.

Rand Paul

Taxes pass-through business income at 14.5%.

Rick Perry

No specific proposal.

Marco Rubio

Taxes pass-through business income at 25%.

Bernie Sanders

No specific proposal.

Rick Santorum

No specific proposal.

Donald Trump

Taxes pass-through business income at 15%.

Scott Walker

No specific proposal.

Jim Webb

No specific proposal.

Payroll Taxes

Jeb Bush

Exempts workers over 67 years old from payroll taxes.

Ben Carson

Eliminates the taxation of Social Security benefits and the deduction for the employer-side payroll tax.

Lincoln Chafee

No specific proposal.

Chris Christie

Eliminates the payroll tax for workers over 62 and under 21.

Hillary Clinton

No specific proposal.

Ted Cruz

Eliminates the payroll tax.

Carly Fiorina

No specific proposal.

Jim Gilmore

No specific proposal.

Lindsey Graham

No specific proposal.

Mike Huckabee

Eliminates payroll taxes. Creates a federal sales tax at a rate of 23%, with monthly rebates. This proposal is often referred to as the FairTax, and is equivalent to a rate of 30% on the pre-tax price of goods and services.

Bobby Jindal

Eliminates the additional Medicare tax on compensation over $200,000.

Gary Johnson

No specific proposal.

John Kasich

No specific proposal.

Lawrence Lessig

No specific proposal.

Martin O'Malley

Applies the Social Security payroll tax to earnings over $250,000.

George Pataki

No specific proposal.

Rand Paul

Eliminates the payroll tax.

Rick Perry

No specific proposal.

Marco Rubio

Eliminates the additional Medicare tax on compensation over $200,000.

Bernie Sanders

Raises the employer-side payroll tax rate by 6.2%. Applies the Social Security payroll tax to earnings over $250,000. Creates a new payroll tax of 0.2%, to fund paid family leave.

Rick Santorum

No specific proposal.

Donald Trump

No specific proposal.

Scott Walker

No specific proposal.

Jim Webb

No specific proposal.

Estate Tax

Jeb Bush

Eliminates the estate tax and ends step-up basis in capital gains for estates.

Ben Carson

Eliminates the estate tax.

Lincoln Chafee

No specific proposal.

Chris Christie

No specific proposal.

Hillary Clinton

Increases the top estate tax rate to 45%, and lowers the estate tax exclusion to $3.5 million.

Ted Cruz

Eliminates the estate tax.

Carly Fiorina

No specific proposal.

Jim Gilmore

Eliminates the estate tax.

Lindsey Graham

No specific proposal.

Mike Huckabee

Eliminates the estate tax. Creates a federal sales tax at a rate of 23%, with monthly rebates. This proposal is often referred to as the FairTax, and is equivalent to a rate of 30% on the pre-tax price of goods and services.

Bobby Jindal

Eliminates the estate tax.

Gary Johnson

No specific proposal.

John Kasich

Eliminates the estate tax.

Lawrence Lessig

No specific proposal.

Martin O'Malley

No specific proposal.

George Pataki

No specific proposal.

Rand Paul

Eliminates the estate tax.

Rick Perry

Eliminates the estate tax.

Marco Rubio

Eliminates the estate tax.

Bernie Sanders

Increases the top estate tax rate to 65%, and lowers the estate tax exclusion to $3.5 million.

Rick Santorum

Eliminates the estate tax.

Donald Trump

Eliminates the estate tax.

Scott Walker

No specific proposal.

Jim Webb

No specific proposal.

Other Taxes

Jeb Bush

Eliminates the deductibility of interest. Eliminates the personal exemption phase-out. Allows second earners to file their tax returns separately. Taxes carried interest at ordinary income rates.

Ben Carson

Eliminates the exclusion of fringe benefits. Eliminates the deductibility of interest and exempts interest from taxation for non-financial institutions.

Lincoln Chafee

No specific proposal.

Chris Christie

Makes the research and development tax credit permanent.

Hillary Clinton

Establishes business tax credits for profit-sharing and apprenticeships.

Taxes carried interest at ordinary income rates.

Establishes a tax on high-frequency financial transactions.

Ted Cruz

Creates tax-free savings accounts for up to $25,000 of savings a year.

Carly Fiorina

No specific proposal.

Jim Gilmore

No specific proposal.

Lindsey Graham

No specific proposal.

Mike Huckabee

Eliminates all other taxes. Creates a federal sales tax at a rate of 23%, with monthly rebates. This proposal is often referred to as the FairTax, and is equivalent to a rate of 30% on the pre-tax price of goods and services.

Bobby Jindal

Creates tax-free savings accounts for up to $30,000 of savings a year.

Gary Johnson

No specific proposal.

John Kasich

Doubles the research and development credit for businesses with under $20 million in gross revenues.

Lawrence Lessig

No specific proposal.

Martin O'Malley

Establishes a financial transactions tax, at an unspecified rate.

Taxes carried interest at ordinary income rates

George Pataki

Taxes carried interest at ordinary income rates.

Rand Paul

No specific proposal.

Rick Perry

No specific proposal.

Marco Rubio

Eliminates the head of household filing status. Removes interest income from the tax base, except for interest received by financial institutions. Provides a new tax credit for businesses that offer paid family leave.

Bernie Sanders

Eliminates the personal exemption phase-out.

Establishes a financial transactions tax, at a rate between 0.005% and 0.5%, with an offsetting credit for low-income Americans.

Taxes carried interest at ordinary income rates.

Rick Santorum

Eliminates the deductibility of interest.

Donald Trump

Places a "reasonable cap" on the deductibility of interest against the corporate income tax. Taxes carried interest at ordinary income rates.

Scott Walker

No specific proposal.

Jim Webb

No specific proposal.

This chart includes every concrete tax proposal offered by presidential candidates since January 1st, 2015. It does not include tax policy proposals relating to healthcare, the environment, and other policy areas which do not alter major structural features of the tax code.

To read more about the different issues listed in this chart, read this post.

The candidates listed have been chosen based on this list from the New York Times.

9/17/2015: Updated Bobby Jindal and George Pataki in the Other category after statements made during previous night's GOP debate.

9/11/2015: Updated notes to clarify which candidates are included in our list. While not presently eligible for inclusion in our list, candidate Vermin Supreme assured the Tax Foundation on Twitter that "under a Supreme administration, taxes would be the least of your worries."

9/9/2015: Details of Jeb Bush's tax plan added.

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